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Tuesday 19 July 2016 9:53 am

Labour leadership race: Jeremy Corbyn poised to thrash either Angela Eagle or Owen Smith, according to poll

By: James Nickerson

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Despite the splits and divisions in the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn seems to be somewhat enjoying himself of late; he's even started cracking jokes at Prime Minister's Questions.

Perhaps it's because he's confident he'll thump either Angela Eagle or Owen Smith in a one-on-one election.

He wouldn't be wrong, according to the latest polling. YouGov shows him comprehensively ahead of either challenger candidate.

Some 44 per cent of Labour members said they would vote for Corbyn, with a further 13 per cent saying they probably would.

Read more: MPs vote in favour of Trident renewal as majority of Labour MPs vote against Jeremy Corbyn

Against former shadow business secretary Eagle, the poll of 1,019 members found Corbyn would come out with a 24-point advantage – 58 per cent to her 34 per cent.

Up against Smith, his margin would be slightly reduced, with 56 per cent of support to 34 per cent for Smith.

If all three were on the ballot Corbyn would garner 54 per cent of support, while Eagle would take 21 per cent and Smith would take 15 per cent of first preference votes.

The polling comes as Labour MPs turn out to nominate one of the three candidates. Corbyn, of course, doesn't need any nominations to appear on the ballot, while pressure continues to build on either Smith or Eagle to stand aside and let the more popular candidate run head-to-head against the incumbent.

Read more: Smith promises £200bn infrastructure fund as he attacks Jeremy Corbyn for "posturing"

Smith has actually said he'll do that, but Eagle has not returned the courtesy yet.

Corbyn doesn't need any nominations as Labour's National Executive Committee has voted to allow him to be able to challenge regardless.

The fallout stems from Labour MPs' lack of confidence in their leader following what was widely considered a lacklustre EU referendum campaign. Others are scared that he'd stand no chance in a general election and is not providing effective opposition to the government.

However, the polling for the Times suggests that he's become even more popular following Labour MPs vote of no confidence in him. Corbyn’s net approval rating with Labour members has gone up over the last three weeks, from +3 to +14.

For those who want to vote in the election, they have until 5pm tomorrow to sign up, for £25.

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